The Key to Livability May Be Education

A manufacturing past may not be a hindrance to livability, if Forbes' Most Livable Cities list can be believed.

Pittsburgh, Omaha, Lincoln, Provo, and Ann Arbor were among the top cities chosen for their livability, as indicated by rising income levels, declining crime rates, and low unemployment. A common trend in several of the cities chosen included the presence of higher education.

"Universities are large employers in their cities," says Alexander Von Hoffman, senior fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. "In the long term, not only do you have that employment, but you have an educated population, and you have a large youthful population which tends to be a consuming population."